Strip feeding and cutting machine.



w. K. THOMAS.

STRIP FEEDING AND CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 17. I910- RENEWED JULY 12. I915.

- Patentd Aug. 24, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I. N E

mill N Q L I W. K. THOMAS.

v STRIP FEEDING AND CUTTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 17, 1910. RENEWED JULY 12. I915.

1,150,906. I Patented Aug". 24,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- W. K. THOMAS. STRIP FEEDING AND CUTTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 17. 1910. 1,150,906.

RENEWED JULY 12, I915.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

5 Wue/wbo WZ7710M46 -.coLuM lA PLANOGRAPH cm, WASHXNGTON, D. c.

TTNTTED STATES PATENT QFFTQ Q ALTER H MAS, NEW RK, N-

S'IBIIP FEEDING- AND CUTTING MACHINE.

Patented Aug, 24, 1915.

Application filed october 17, 1-810, Serial No. 587,403. Renewed July 1 2, 191-5. Serial No. 39,517.

ing particularly useful in connection with feeding and cutting off short strips of paper,

such as labels, stamps and the like, from a long strip or roll of said stock.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention before the strip is applied. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the mechanism assembled with the strip in place but.

partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, with one side plate removed. Fig. 4 is detail. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the removable liquid font and moistening roll support. Fig. 6 is a view of that end of one of the feed rolls opposite to the gear, said view illustrating a pawl and ratchet connection between said feed roll and its combined driving shaft and pivotal mounting.

1 represents a reel, upon which a long strip of the material to be fed and cut is mounted.

22 represent the side plates of a frame,

the same supporting the reel 1 in any desired manner.

3. l56 are two sets of companion rollers which are by preference employed, substantially as shown in Fig. 3, the rolls 3-4: constituting one set, the rolls 5.6 the other set. The rolls 3-6 are essentially the feed rolls while the roll 5 is one convenient form of a support or guide. The-roll 4 is employed as the moistening roll, that part of the surface thereof in the path of travel of the strip being arranged to take up moisture and convey it to the strip, as later described.

7 is a removable font for the moistening fluid, the same likewise being provided with suitable bearings for carrying the roll 4, so that said font and roll may be bodily removed at any time for any purpose.

The shafts of therolls 3-6 are provided with wheels, preferably gear wheels, 3 6 which are arranged to cooperate with a side rack 8, which is arranged to be moved to and fro, in this instance a suitable handle being providedon the rack whereby the same may be manually moved. The connection between the gear wheels 3 6 and. the rolls 3-6 is preferably a pawl and ratchet connection, as indicated at 9 10 Fig. 6. whereby the gears. 3 f6 will be'positively coupled with said rolls whenthe latter are to be moved in a direction to feed the strip.

11 is a knife arrangedto move up and down in guide-way grooves in the side plates 2+2? 12 is a second knife element preferably mounted in oblique grooves in the upper part of the frame for adjustment to and fro relatively to the knife 11. The parts 11 12 cooperate in the act of cutting the strip. When the knife elementlQ. is made adjustable, as preferred, any suitable adjusting means may be employed, for example, adjusting screws 13 and the lock screw 13. The passage way for the strip is preferably bounded by suitable guiding means to, cause the strip passing from the feed rolls 6 to the feed roll 3 to follow a proper course, This guiding means may comprise the guide pieces 14L-15-1617, the design of which may be varied at will.

18 is a guide plate preferably provided to the rear of the feed roll, 6, between it and the reel 1.

19 's a lever pivoted at 20 and carrying an operating arm 21. In the particular form shown herein, the operating arm 21 has an upwardly curved cam portion, as shown in Fig. 1, the extreme end of which is arranged preferably underneath the rack 8.

22 is a pawl carried by the rack 8 on a pivot 23. This pawl is preferably pendant from said rack and may swing up in one direction freely, but is checked in its pendant position on its return. By the means of the pawl 22, the arm 21 and the knife 11 are actuated.

,In the preferred construction, the feed rolls 36, the knife element 12 and the guide pieces 14,17 are preferably carried by a hinged portion 24 of the frame, said portion 24 being pivoted, for example, at 25, whereby said hinged portion may be elevated, or tilted up, to facilitate threading the strip through the guide passage and under the feed roll 6 (see Fig. 1). 'When this is the hinged p 24 is restored 27 is a spring preferably employed to return the rack to its normal idle position. Starting with the rack in the position indicated in Fig. 1, and with the balance of the parts in the position indicated in Fig. 3, and with one end of the strip 29 threaded underneath the roll 6 and up to the knife 11; if the operator now pulls the rack to the left, it will cause the feed rolls 36 to rotate in a direction to feed the strip forwardly. As shown herein, the gear wheels 3*6 are of a smaller diameter than the rolls 3-6 respectively, which is a preferred construction, in order that by a relatively short movement of the rack a greater length of strip may be fed per stroke. As the rack is drawn to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, the strip will be rapidly fed toward and between the rolls 3-4. On the start of said stroke, the pawl 22 trips freely over the end of the arm 21 without disturbing the position of the latter. When the desired length of strip has been withdrawn, the rack 8 is returned to its original position. Near the end of the return stroke the pendant pawl 22, now held rigidly, engages the cam portion of the arm 21 and quickly tilts the same, imparting to the knife 11 a correspondingly quick upward movement, breaking or shearing the strip at a point directly above said knife. The moment the pawl passes the arm 21, the knife resumes its normal position under the influence preferably of a spring of any suitable design, one example of such spring being shown at 28, Fig. 3.

From the foregoing it is apparent that predetermined lengths of strip may be fed out and severed, the length of said strip being determined by the degree to which the rack is moved. If at any time it should be desired to secure a single length of strip of greater length than would be furnished by one full stroke of the rack, all that is required of the operator is to pull the rack to its outer position so as to project the end of the strip beyond the feed roll 3. By continuing to hold the rack in this position, the operator may grasp the projected strip end and pull it out any desired length, the

rolls 3-6 freely permitting this withdrawing of the strip by reason of their ratchet mounting the teethof the ratchets 0 being so set as to permit the pawl 10 to ride thereon with the continued rotary movement of the rolls 3 and 8 incidental to such withdrawal of the paper. Again, the operator may project as long a strip as desired by simply reciprocating the rack to and fro, taking care on each reciprocation not to permit said rack to return to such a degree as to cause the ate the arm 21.

It is obvious that in a variety of ways the machine herein described may be modi pawl 22 to engage and operfied without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention, and for that reason it should be understood that the foregoing description attempts to describe in terms only one preferred and successful form.

Many advantages are attained in the use of this machine; for example, where a gummed strip is used, the'unused end which remains in the machine stands at a point well removed from the moisten-ing roll, so that there is no danger of prematurely moistening the same. Again, it will be observed that the cutting off operation occurs at a point where as yet the strip is unmoistened, thereby avoiding the gumming up of the knife. Again, it holds the severed strip conveniently so that where the same is to be applied to a package its exposed and moistened end may be applied to the package before withdrawingthe balance of the strip, thus enabling such gummed strip to be readily attached to packages without soiling the fingers. In the preferred construction, the distance from the rear of the knife to the top of the moistening' roll is such that on starting the machine suficient I time will be'permit-ted for the moistening roll to revolve to such a degree as to present a freshly moistened surface to the strip by the time the oncoming end of the strip reaches said roll. The feed rolls 3-6 are preferably metallic and provided with slight knurlings or nibs arranged to assist in feeding the paper, while the opposite rolls 45 preferably have relatively soft surfaces. It should be stated that the preferred form of the knife 11 is such that it provides, in connection with the knife element 12, a shearing action. Again, it is preferred that the two opposite edges of the knife 11 be provided with upward extensions ,11 -11"-, which stand flush with the inner surfaces of the side plates of the frame, and likewise project at alltimes slightly above the lower end of the knife element 12, whereby it is never possible to project the knife element 12 across the path of movement of the blade 11. Any suitable means may be provided for adjusting the rolls so as to vary the space between them. Such modifications are too obvious to require illustration or detailed description.

What I claim is:

1. In a strip feeding and cutting machine actuate said cutter, wandr a. fountain from which moisture is applied to the-strip by vthe roll-cooperating with the positively-driven rolL in advance of said cutter.

2. 'In-a strip 'feeding and cutting machine, a plurality of parallel rolls, a plurality of gears, a pawl andratchet connection between said, gears respectively and said rolls respectively, whereby said rolls may besi multaneously and positively .driven in one direction only, a fixed-and movable cutting blade intermediate said rolls, a roll bearing upon each of said" first named rolls, a reciprocatory rack in=mesh with=both of said gears, an operating lever connected with saidmovable cuttingablade, a pivotal member carried by said-rack and adapted to operativelyengage said lever upon the reciprocation of said rack, and a fountain from which moisture is applied to the strip by the roll cooperating with the 1 positively driven roll in advance ofsaid "cutting blades.

3. In a strip feeding and cutting machine,

a frame including a main frame portionhaving a guide passage thereon and a movable portion hinged adjacent one end of said passage, a plurality of "par-allelrolls mounted in said hinged portion, a fixed cutter blade carried by said hinged portion, means carried by'saidrolls whereby'they may be simultaneously actuated, a roll adapted to bear upon each of said first named rolls mounted in said main frame portion, a movable cutterblade' carried by said main frame portion, main actuating means adapted to operat vely engage the means carried by said first named rolls, means whereby said movable cutterbla de may be actuated, means carried by said main actuating means and adapted to operatively engage means for actuating said movable cutter blade, and a fountain from which moisture is applied to the strip by the roll cooperating with the roll mounted on said movable portion in advance of said cutting blades.

4. In a strip feeding and cutting mechanism, a frame, a feed-roll, a moistening roll adjacent thereto and removable laterally from said frame, a guide at the rear of said feed and moistening rolls, a cutter likewise at the rear of said rolls and arranged to move across the path of movement of a strip being drawn through said rolls, operating means in common to said feed-roll and said cutter, and an adjustable cooperating cutter element arranged obliquely to the path of travel of said first mentioned cutter element.

5. In a strip feeding and cutting mechanism, a frame, a feed-roll, a moistening roll adjacent thereto and removable laterally from said frame, a guide at the rear of said feed and moistening rolls, a cutter likewise at the rear of said rolls and arranged to move across the path of movement of a strip being drawn through said rolls, operating means in common to said feed roll and said cutter, an adjustable cooperating cutter element arranged obliquely to the path of travel of said first mentioned element, part of the first mentioned cutter element overlapping at all times said second cutter element to prevent the second mentioned cutter element from being adjusted to such a position as to interferewith the movement of said first mentioned cutter element.

6. In a strip feeding and cutting machine, a frame, two feed-rolls having a guide pas sage between the same, a moistening element adjacent to the outermost feed-roll, a reciprocating operatingdevice for said feed-rolls and said cutter, said operating device'moving said feed-rolls when said operating device ismoved in one direction, and operating said cutting device when moved in an opposite direction only, and connections between said operating device and cutter, including a curved lever carried by said frame and a lever engaging pawl carried by said operating device.

7. In a strip feeding and cutting machine, a reel, 'a feed-roll, a ratchet mounting therefor including a gear, a rack in operative engagement'with said gear and arranged to turn said feed-roll when said rack is moved in one direction, a cutter between said reel and said feed-roll, operative means of connection between said cutter and said rack, including a. lever adapted to reciprocate the former and a pawl on the latter, whereby said cutter is actuated only when said rack is moved in an opposite direction to that first mentioned, a moistening roll arranged adjacent to said. feed-roll, and means at the rear of the cutter to feed the strip forwardLv.

8. In a strip feeding and cutting machine, a frame, a reel, a feed-roll, a pawl and ratchet mounting therefor including a gear, a rack in operative engagement with said gear and arranged to turn said feedroll only when said rack is moved in one direction, a cutter between said reel and said feed-roll, operative means of connection between said cutter and said rack, including a lever adapted to reciprocate the former and a pawl on the latter, whereby said cutter is actuated only when said rack is moved in an opposite direction to that first mentioned, a moistening roll arranged adjacent to said feed-roll, a removable font carrying said moistening roll, said font being removable laterally from said frame, and means at the rear of the cutter to feed the strip forwardly.

9. In a strip feeding and cutting machine, a reel, a feed-roll, a ratchet mounting therefor including a gear, a rack in operative engagement with said gear and arranged to turn said feed-roll only when said rack is moved in one direction, a cutter between said reel and sald feed-roll, operative -means of connection between said cutter and said rack, including a lever adapted to reciprocate the former and a pawl on the latter, whereby said cutter is actuated only when said rack is moved in an opposite direction to that first mentioned, a moistening roll arranged adjacent to said feed-roll, and another feed-roll arranged between said cutter and said reel.

10. In a strip feeding and cutting machine, a reel, a feed-roll, a ratchet mounting therefor including a gear, a rack in operative engagement with said gear and arranged to turn said feed-roll when said rack is moved in one direction only, a cutter between said reel and said feedroll, operative means of connection between said cutter and said rack whereby said cutter is ac tuated when said rack is moved in an opposite direction to that first mentioned, a moistening roll arranged adjacent to said feedroll, said cutter including two cutter elements, parts of which overlap at all times, one of said elements being adjustable, and means at the rear of the cutter to feed the strip forwardly.

11. In a strip feeding and cutting machine, a reel, a feed-roll, a ratchet mounting therefor including a gear, a rack in operative engagement with said gear and arranged to turn said feed-roll when said rack is moved in one direction only, a cutter between said reel and said feed-roll, operative means of connection between said cutter and said rack whereby said cutter is actuated only when said rack is moved in an opposite direction to that first mentioned, a moistening roll arranged adjacent to said feed-roll, said cutter including two cutter elements, one of said cutter elements being adjustable, a carrier for said feed-roll whereby the same may be lifted, and means at the rear of-the cutter to feed the strip forwardly.

Y 12. In a strip feeding and moistening apparatus, a frame, a reel carried thereby, a cutter carried thereby, operating mechanism carried thereby, a moistener carried thereby, said frame having a movable part, a pair of feed rolls carried by said moving part whereby said rolls may be moved from an operative to an inoperative position.

13. In a strip feeding and moistening apparatus, a frame, a reel carried thereby, a cutter carried thereby, operating mechanism carried thereby, a moistener carried thereby, said frame having a movable part, a pair of feed rolls anda strip guide carried by said moving part whereby said rolls may be moved from an operative to an inopera-- tive position. 14. In a strip feeding andmoistening apparatus, a frame, a reel carried thereby, a cutter carried thereby, operating mech anism carried thereby, a moistener carried thereby, said frame having a movable part. a pair of feed rolls carried by said moving part whereby said rolls may be moved from an operative to an inoperative position, and an adjustable cutter abutment for cooperation with the cutter, said cutter abutment being carried by the movable part of said frame.

WALTER K. THOMAS.

Witnesses:

CHAS. A..PEARDS, IDA M. HUNZIKER.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

7 Washington, D. C. 

